Nikkdramafan

It's a shame to see the low ratings some people are giving this drama, especially after only watching a couple of episodes... You can't even *begin* to understand the characters at that point... I suspect some reviewers are mad it's not a rom-com...

Anyway...this is a *drama*, and a very true-to-life portrayal of how complicated real relationships can be... Do the characters have flaws? Of course they do! As do we all! But if one pays attention, and allows the story to unfold, the motivations of the characters become clear... The story is poignant, and sometimes painful, but beautifully written... The acting is SUPERB, not only the leads, but Moon Tae yu's nuanced portrayal of So Kyung pil is perfection! This is something you can kick yourself for missing if you drop the show after only a few episodes...

If you enjoy well-developed characters, great acting, and a really good story that moves at the proper pace, if you are willing to engage and not just "be entertained", this may be the drama you've been waiting for...

I'm giving my rating before the final 2 episodes, so I will adjust accordingly, if appropriate... and not based on if I "get a happy ending"... Life is messy, people... If you're looking for laughs, look elsewhere...

I initially put off watching this, but am so glad I finally did! I loved this all the way through! Kim Da Mi and Ahn Bo Hyun were both brilliant in their roles! This is the best work I've seen yet from Park Seo Jun... I also loved Ryu Kyung Soo and Lee Joo Young... The actors were excellent, the story was interesting, the ost perfection! Do not miss this one!

I am rating this drama a 9 now, before completion, because I want to share my thoughts... So, my rating is provisional, in case something completely bizarre occurs... EDIT: (Something completely bizarre has occurred...)

First, I'd like to say that this show is incredibly well done! I give huge props to the director, the writer, and all of the actors, who are doing absolutely stellar work here! This feels so real! Na-bi's annoying indecisiveness...her insecurities...getting pulled back in, multiple times, when she knows better...so real... Jae-eon's smooth game of push and pull, toying with her feelings, then pulling her back with some " thoughtful" gifts or gestures... This is Toxic Relationship 101, done to perfection! Based on personal experience, I feel compelled to recognize the absolute clarity in this work of art... I have not read the webtoon, and do not know the ending, but I hope they continue to do this story justice, and do not feel compelled to re-write their planned ending based on public clamoring... Please trust your work, it's very good... EDIT: (it *was* very good...for the first 9 episodes... now I really wanna know how the webtoon ended... Unfortunate that there was only clarity up until the murky ending... Toxic relationships like this should no longer be portrayed as romantic... And watching/hearing that he fell for her as she was standing in front of that embarrassing sculpture her horrible first boyfriend put her name on just totally creeped me out...😱)

I am hoping that Na-bi and Jae-eon do not end up together (as much as I love Song Kang's portrayal of this character), because, whether he is broken, or just a jerk, the idea that "the right woman" can "fix" a man like this is a disservice to young women who will be watching, and also to the character of Na-bi... It is not her job to make him whole. He needs to get healthy before he tries to have a relationship with anyone... I guess they could do a time-jump, but they would need to have plenty of time to make it clear that he had gotten therapy and dealt with his issues... EDIT: (Well, unfortunately there was no time-jump, but they didn't even bother to have Na-bi try to "fix" him, she just accepted him, warts and all...knowing very well that she will be hurt again... Why, Na-bi, whyyyy?!? Not that I'm saying she should have tried to fix him, she should have shook him off like a hairy spider!).

I also want to say, the pure devotion of the childhood friend, Do-hyeok, is being played to perfection by Chae Jong-hyeop... I appreciate how, even when he feels hurt or jealous, he never weaponizes his feelings against Na-bi... Can we hope that he remains true to his character to the end? This is what real love for someone looks like... EDIT: (IMPORTANT OBSERVATION: Chae Jong-hyeop is now the guy we want to see get the girl next time (Casting directors, please take note)... and not by playing a character that is a jerk... don't misunderstand me, I *do* love bad boys...but bad boys that reform themselves because they are motivated to become better people, or bad boys that were only ever "bad" on the surface, and were really squishy soft on the inside all along (Choi Young-do from The Heirs, Han Seo-jun from True Beauty)...Not a self-centered character like Jae-eon, who we really didn't get to see make any positive changes, or even a commitment to change...freeing the butterflies was not it... And did everyone develop amnesia about him flirting with the lady at the bar and taking her to "see the butterflies" while Na-bi was out of town?!? And then he had the nerve to tell Na-bi he missed her! Not that night, he didn't...)

Additionally, I've read that the part of Kim Mingui is being reduced/edited out because he (supposedly) did something that wasn't acceptable, which, while not a nice thing to do, is an error in judgement, not a crime... He is, what, 26? Plenty of people don't know what they want (or how to go about getting it) when they are that age... Could he have found a better way to handle things? Probably... So, fine...call him a bad boy, and don't date him until he gets his head on straight... But, mess with his work? Not cool...no need for that... EDIT: (I was very pleased to see that Kim Mingui was not heavily edited out, although we cannot know how much greater his part may have been minus the controversy... I was happy that time was given to resolve the relationship between his character, Nam Gyu-hyun, and Bit-na (the characters were so great together, as were the actors! Great chemistry!)... I could have happily had much more of them together onscreen, but hopefully we will see them both again very soon)

Also, in my final edit, I would like to give major props for the LGBTQ+ romance, which was very beautifully done by Lee Ho-jung and Yoon Seo-ah... every loving relationship in this series was heartwarming, except for the one between Na-bi and Jae-eon... Disappointing they didn't finish that appropriately...

While the ending may have been truthful, it is not a truth that serves well... "young woman refuses to give up toxic guy, even though she knows he will only hurt her again"... I get that this turmoil might appeal to very young women who don't know they deserve more, but couldn't we have had instead, "young woman with potential decides to give up toxic relationship to focus on herself and her art"...? Or, "young woman realizes she is in a toxic relationship and ends it to be with her first love, who truly understands and cares for her"...? My only hope for how this ended is that there is a Season 2 in the works... The series overall was very well done, I'm just dismayed by the message... I get that young women will make bad choices and get hurt, but let's let them know there's a brighter future that can be had...

Final thoughts... This was an extremely well-crafted (for the most part) series, with absolutely phenomenal acting... I would have to say, it seems like a success in that it created two very polarized camps (🦋 vs 🥔) which generated a lot of buzz... I read that the ratings in S Korea were not that high, but I don't think ratings tell the whole story anymore... I'd say this is a WIN for Netflix... If only the ending had made more sense this could have been a 10 for me...

Let's be honest, I watched this because of Jang Ki-young and Song Kang, who are both having a year right now... I kept seeing this title pop up, and when I realized they were both in it, I figured, Why not? Could be fun to see them together in some of their early work, right? Well...

I am halfway through at this point, and...perplexed... I am not a quitter, but I am finding very little to keep me watching this mess... The story (assuming there is one) is terribly disjointed... it can't seem to figure out where to focus... it's murky and lacks commitment, which is unfortunate, because there are some actors in here who are committed to their roles...

The most important thing for me in watching a drama or movie is the performance...are the actors intimately familiar with the characters they are playing, and committed to their truth... the story comes second... So, for that reason only, I have been hanging in... That said, some of the actors are not pulling their weight... I realize that a lot of these actors are young, and many lack experience, but...some of them are just clearly doing a better job than others... The male lead is doing a reasonable job...although I often don't understand what he is doing (or thinking), I blame the writer and director for that (also, choppy editing doesn't help)... the female lead is...not great... some of this may be blamed on the director... I realize she is young, and I guess this is her first role, so... I understand she has a new drama coming soon, so it will be interesting to see how she's grown as an actress... I find no fault with the work of Lee Jung-Jin, who I have only seen a couple of times, but who is solid here... the female CEO/whatever is a bit over-the-top in my opinion, not sure if that is the actress or the director's fault...

The actors who have impressed me the most are actually Jang Ki-young, who, while not having a lot of screen time so far, is fully embodying his character, and Kim Sung-joo, with whom I am completely unfamiliar, but who certainly seems to know what he's doing here...I will check out his later work... This is also Song Kang's very first outing (Jang Ki-young had already put away several dramas at this point), so...he has clearly picked up a lot of skills in the last four years, as his recent work will attest...

The biggest problem is the writing/direction... but I will hang to the end, and if things improve, I will change my rating...

Just finished watching episodes 13 and 14, and I am astonished at how mesmerizing this series is... I'm not always a huge fan of fantasy... it has to be very well done for me to be even moderately interested. So many fantasy shows are just cheesy and poorly executed. But this... this is incredible! It is so well - written and tightly plotted...the story just slays, it is so fresh! The direction is perfectly handled, giving room for the story and the actors to breathe... production values are amazing, and the acting is exceptional for a fantasy series... The actors' chemistry is on fire, not only between Lee Dong-Wook and Jo Bo-Ah, who play the lead characters, but also between each of them and Kim Bum, who plays the half-gumiho, half-human brother... I have read that there is also some improv happening, which just completely blows my mind! If the director is allowing/encouraging that, then you know you have some superbly talented actors in the production... Supporting actors Hwang Hee, Kim Yong-Ji, and Lee Tae-Ri are also putting in stellar work here. Character development is everything, and it is not lacking anywhere... If you happen to be a music lover, you may find yourself exploring the work of the artists on the soundtrack... Blue Moon, by Kim Jong-Wan (NELL), is the perfect theme: moody, intense, and soulful... Granted, there are 2 episodes left, so I suppose things could spin massively out of control, but having not once been disappointed by anything this far in, I think we're good... This is everything to love in one amazing package... Is there anyway possible to do it again?

Just finished watching episodes 13 and 14, and I am astonished at how mesmerizing this series is... I'm not always a huge fan of fantasy... it has to be very well done for me to be even moderately interested. So many fantasy shows are just cheesy and poorly executed. But this... this is incredible! It is so well - written and tightly plotted...the story just slays, it is so fresh! The direction is perfectly handled, giving room for the story and the actors to breathe... production values are amazing, and the acting is exceptional for a fantasy series... The actors' chemistry is on fire, not only between Lee Dong-Wook and Jo Bo-Ah, who play the lead characters, but also between each of them and Kim Bum, who plays the half-gumiho, half-human brother... I have read that there is also some improv happening, which just completely blows my mind! If the director is allowing/encouraging that, then you know you have some superbly talented actors in the production... Supporting actors Hwang Hee, Kim Yong-Ji, and Lee Tae-Ri are also putting in stellar work here. Character development is everything, and it is not lacking anywhere... If you happen to be a music lover, you may find yourself exploring the work of the artists on the soundtrack... Blue Moon, by Kim Jong-Wan (NELL), is the perfect theme: moody, intense, and soulful... Granted, there are 2 episodes left, so I suppose things could spin massively out of control, but having not once been disappointed by anything this far in, I think we're good... This is everything to love in one amazing package... Is there anyway possible to do it again?

This is a 2- part mini series that is truly special. I feel inctedibly lucky to have discovered it. Beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, written with such heart... It's just unforgettable... If you are a fan of the work of Lee Dong Wook, this is not to be missed. As a side note, this was the first Korean tv drama to be filmed in 3D.